"It is ideological discrimination," said Wei Jizhong, a deputy chief of the China mission. "The use of drugs is universal, not just one country. Don't focus attention only on China, because since 1995 Chinese swimmers have no positive tests."

FINA (swimming's international governing body) voted to suspend any country for two years with four doping offenses within a 12-month period. The ruling will not go into effect until late September. China had six positive drug tests, five for performance-enhancing anabolic steroids, in 1994. China would have been banned for two years, including the '96 Olympic Games, had the rule been approved earlier.

Chinese swimmers used to be an oxymoron. Before 1992, no Chinese woman had won Olympic gold in the pool. At Barcelona, four Chinese women took home gold medals, more than the United States or unified Germany, and two set world records.

At the 1994 World Championships, the thick-muscled Chinese women won 12 of 16 events and set three world records. But later that year at the Asian Games, seven Chinese women tested positive for steroids.

Chinese officials said Wednesday that the positive tests in 1994 prompted a crackdown from national and international federations.

In 1995, China conducted 995 drug tests on its athletes, 501 in track and field and swimming, according to a report in the South China Post. Of those 995 tests, 13 were positive, the newspaper said.

"Since 1995, FINA has conducted a series of drug tests on Chinese swimmers at international competitions and our competitions in China without notice," Jizhong said. "The Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese Swimming Association have cooperated during each drug test because we believe we have not violated the law.

"So even though the Chinese Olympic Committee has made every effort to guard against doping, our swimmers are still wrongly accused."